Evidence from contested warrants will stand in Byron Sonne case

Superior Court Justice Nancy Spies has rejected an application to have evidence against G20 fanatic Byron Sonne thrown out. His defence lawyer argued last week that the affidavits filed by a police officer were full of lies and inaccuracies. (If Spies had upheld the motion, swaths of evidence would be impermissible.) Last week, the judge did nix days of police surveillance on the grounds that the accused was unlawfully detained. Toronto police approached Sonne in June 2010 shortly after he had been spotted filming the G20 security fence, and when he refused to identify himself (exercising his right to anonymity unless being detained for a crime) officer Michael Wong told Sonne he was under investigation for jaywalking (which the Crown admitted was a “ruse” to get him to produce his ID). With Sonne’s name and some prodigious Googling, Toronto police uncovered an extensive history of suspicious behaviour online. This week, Justice Spies will decide if police also violated his Charter rights by seizing his possessions or questioning him for 12 hours without a lawyer. Read the entire story [Toronto Sun] »